GAMMA Investing LLC Takes $364,000 Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CL. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter worth $25,000. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,863,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $88.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $87.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.25. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.